Valley Railroad Station, Lexington Virginia
This building was erected by the Valley Railroad Company in 1883 as its Lexington station. As it happened, it also became its terminus, because, although some right of way structures were built and grading begun on an extension of the line south to Roanoke, this portion was never completed. The line was acquired later by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, then by the Chesapeake Western Railway, and finally by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company in 1943. By this time the station was served by a spur from the main line at Buena Vista, Va., and the tracks on the old Valley Railroad line were removed and the right of way and associated buildings between Staunton, Va. and Lexington were sold.
The building is a single story rectangle 22'-0" x 142'-6" overall, with, a wooden freight platform raised to windowsill height extending another 50' to the south and wrapped around the freight room with a platform 8' wide on the front and 10' wide on the track side. Thirty-three of the 142'-6" length was an addition to the north of the original building, set in 4" in width on the front and rear. This addition includes a basement, reached by an outside concrete stairwell on the front.
Exterior and party walls are brick 13" thick. South of the gabled central feature, panels are recessed to form regularly spaced pilasters 4" deep by 20" wide. These panels corbel out in two courses to the plane of the face of the pilasters one course below the eave. Between the openings of the original building, the second and fourth courses below the spring line of the segmental arched heads are of extruded brick reeding; a double course of reeding connects the plain stone window sill3. Door sills; are connected by a plain brick belt course which with the reeded course forms a dado. In the addition, plain brick belt courses are substituted for the reeding. The building is painted light gray with darker gray gables, eaves and dado.
The floor plan is not significant. Space is divided by stud partitions into freight, waiting, ticket, rest and service areas.
Walls in public areas are wainscoated to a height of 6,-0" by vertical boards, joined by splines leaving a 7/8 x l/4" joint, headed by plain 1" x 4" rails at top and bottom, with a plain base, no shoe mould, and a plain cap with cove mould. Obscure glass borrowed lights occur over the wainscoating in the hall. Walls in service areas are wainscoated to window stool height by 1" x 3" vertical beaded joint boards. All walls include a picture mould and are plastered above wainscoats. All ceilings are plastered except in the freight room where it is omitted. The basic ceiling is 13'-6", although this is furred down in the smaller rooms.
